Chapter 28

The term Hecatomb is an ancient, antiquated term that originally defined a mass sacrifice in the name of one or more beings of terrifying power. These terrible acts that could wipe out entire cities in a single night were almost always done to appease some dark power. A lich, a demon lord, a devil king, or even dark Gods or malevolent Titans are only a few of the beings that have attempted hecatombs or offered one for a great favor. The term Hecatomb shifted to an alternate name for a Myst-Blooded after one truly vile individual performed a hecatomb to become an immortal of truly terrifying power. This act was performed in the early Age of Hungry Iron, killing an entire nation. That individual had their identity stricken from all records, only known as the Malevolent Hecatomb of Scarlet Midnight. 

Lind and I discussed his offer for almost two hours. His offer was astounding. He would craft me basic but high-quality cybernetics so I could get back to daily function. On top of that, he would help me design and craft replacement limbs that were not cutting edge, but experimental, bleeding edge technology. What did he ask in exchange? Even that was a bonus for me. He wanted me to act as a paid live-in assistant and student in my downtime. He even offered me transport not just around the city but to and from the academy. But he was firm on the requirement that I keep his identity and appearance quiet around any full Order members out of fear of bad blood.

We continued to talk as Lind fitted me with the temporary limbs. I lay on a reclined operating table on my stomach, my shoulder joint, back and chest numbed, while Lind worked. He had recommended that I take full sedation because his work was going to be gruesome. I blatantly refused because I wanted to learn as much about the process as I could. I regretted that choice.

I could feel a dull tugging and pushing sensation on my back, and I did not like thinking about what he was doing. So, I held a discussion with Lind because I was brimming with questions.

“How do you know so much about Myst-Bloo-? Sorry. Hecatombs?” I asked.

“Simple.” Lind said as I felt a harder tug than normal. “Studying your class’s magic system was the natural choice for me to understand the fundamentals of magic seamlessly integrating with a living body.”

“Couldn’t you’ve just studied in-depth Body Myst mechanics?”

“That’s a part of the whole. And your type of magic is a very large piece of the puzzle of my study. Body Myst study is an excellent starting point for understanding how myst can augment a body and act as a simple extension of it. But Hecatombs’ blood control and using blood as a spell focus can be added to that.”

“So, could you help me train in my class?” I asked. “I’ve only learned basic spell theory, and I’ve put it to good use. But I’ve had no training in any abilities.”

Let me give a quick explanation for those of you without an Adventurer class. All classes have unique tricks, techniques, and/or equipment known as abilities. This is actually the origin of how the term because regularly used in the gaming community. An example of this that you may have picked up on earlier in the story was when Demierra was fighting alongside me against the Regulators. She had used the two variations of the Flame Javelin ability. She also used the Volt Step Cowl ability. Abilities function differently from standard magic, but we can get into that at a later time.

“I could if you think you need it.” Lind said in a lax tone.

I reflexively tried to sit up in excitement. But Lind rested a hand on the back of my head to stop me. His hand had no pushing strength or weight, but it was as immovable as if I was trying to push a building. “Don’t, move.” he said sternly.

“Sorry.” I bashfully muttered, aware that if he hadn’t stopped me from moving, something could have gone horribly wrong.

“I’m in the middle of pinning your muscle so I can mount it to the new limb after I’m done severing the bone.” Lind said offhandedly as he went back to work.

“Sever…bone?”

“Iver, boy, don’t be a buffoon. If you want a new arm, you’re going to need to have your shoulder blade, clavicle, and such removed and replaced. I can’t just meld bone and metal if you want anything to perform right. But back to the topic at hand. I’m guessing you want my help training.”

“Y-yes.” I stammered. “You’ve mentioned things like Blood Rage and Total Blood Control, but I have no idea what any of it means.”

I heard Lind take a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh just before I heard something heavy land in the metal pan on the tool table beside us. I looked over and experienced a stomach flip. My eyes locked onto the operating pan, which I was vaguely aware was called an emesis basin, where I found a shoulder blade—my shoulder blade—my scapula.

“To start, let me make this clear. Those abilities you used shouldn’t be accessible until an Elite Adventurer rank at the earliest. Blood Rage and Total Blood Control are very dangerous abilities, and if it gets out that you can use them without the required rank, you could find yourself in a heap of legal trouble. To be fair, the fact that you innately tapped into those abilities says a large amount about your aptitude. But six of one and half a dozen of another, we will need to tailor things accordingly.”

“I, uh.” my mind was totally blank at the sight of my removed bone.

“Focus, kid.” Lind scolded. “You were the one that wanted to stay awake.”

I refocused on the Elf. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“Do you think that you could replicate the abilities in a stable state of mind?”

“I- I honestly couldn’t say.”

Lind gave a single nod. “Then we will start with the fundamentals. To start with, the more powerful you grow, the less blood you will need to cast spells and use abilities. You can also use the blood of other people and creatures for your abilities but not for your spells. You will need to keep this in mind.”

“Got it.” I affirmed.

“That is the basic theory behind your class. Now, a simple ability I think you should be able to use is called Blood Weapon. Put simply, you draw on blood to create a simple weapon. It could be a dagger, a club, or anything along those parameters, as long as it is a simple, one-handed melee weapon. After you gain enough skill, you should be able to increase the solidity of the weapon, form something more complicated, or form two weapons at once.”

I was still thinking about how I could use the Blood Weapon trick when Lind went into the spell theory of the ability, and I quickly set my therra to take recorded notes on everything he said. The principles were simple enough. The BindRunes were simple. Body, Blood, Lock, Hold, Trigger, and a melee weapon shape such as Blade, Lance, or Blunt. Lind went into the mechanical methods beyond the BindRunes, and I was reasonably sure that I could use the whole lesson as a springboard into something more advanced.

After that ability theory was covered, I asked for more, and without hesitation, Lind dived straight into the abilities of the Sanguin Spear and Scarlet Strike. I focused on the studies with all I had to ignore the knowledge that Lind was removing my acromion bone, or what was left of it. He had to flay the stump of my shoulder and more to get to the bones he needed to remove.

When Lind knew I could see what he was doing, he took a break from ability studies to explain what he was doing. As he systematically removed skin and tissue, he applied a temporary coagulant and pinned any arteries and large veins shut to stop me from bleeding out. The Quik-Klot substance was critical to any cybernetic work to keep the subject alive. The powder was also used on severe battlefield wounds to keep the individual alive long enough to get to a doctor or healer. 

It became much harder to focus when he started operating on my collarbone. With a scalpel so near my neck, carving me up like a holiday ham, I couldn’t help but feel a deep terror of a slip of the hand that would end all that I was. Lind seemed to notice this, so he changed topics back to Hecatomb abilities. He explained the concept and formula for much more advanced abilities in an effort to keep me distracted. He explained Blood Rage and Total Blood Control. Lind told me not to expect total understanding until I was much more experienced. But he did tell me to think and theorize on the mechanics of the abilities for as long as I could while he worked.

Blood Rage was an advanced ability that dulled pain and could have one of two effects. Either I could thicken my blood and harden my body to reduce damage. Or I could thin my blood and suffer extra blood loss but gain a large amount of fuel for my abilities and spells. If I could figure out how to use this ability, I could use it to devastating effect.

Hemo Spike was a purely offensive ability. I could turn any blood within range into an instant but momentary weapon. That was another ability that I could use as a game-changer if I played it right.

I took continuous deep breaths as I systematically thought through each of the advanced abilities. I sorted out the BindRune formulas, the myst and blood required for each, the repercussions, and the drawbacks. When I asked about the Total Blood Control ability, Lind said I should totally avoid attempting it until I was a much higher rank.

By the time I was done thinking through every possible variable of the two advanced abilities, I had totally missed Lind installing the bound synth-fibers to my severed muscles and mounting the joint apparatus on my shoulder. The synth-fibers were shockingly advanced for what he called basic.

As he mounted the actual arm to my shoulder, my nerves were shocked with a burst of sensation. My missing arm, which had been numb to my senses aside from a dull throbbing, burst with enough tactile feeling to overload my mind for a few seconds. My world went white, and my limbs all tensed, including my new arm, as if a massive current of electricity was run through my body.

When I regained my senses, Lind was pinning me to the floor with both hands. Despite the fact that I had been face down on the table for the entire operation, aside from some adjusting when he was working on my collarbone, I had somehow ended up on the floor beside the table, lying on my stomach.

Lind flipped me over onto my back, and what I found was a controlled disaster. Blood covered everything within an eight-foot radius around the table I was originally lying on. Anything made from wood or glass was splintered or shattered. Anything made of metal was either scattered, shattered, or dented.

When I looked down at my shirtless body, I found a nightmare. Cuts ranging in size from something that might have been caused by paper to what could’ve been mistaken for dagger slashes covered every inch of skin, openly bleeding. My pants were shredded and blood-stained. My chest and remaining arm were slashed at every large vein and seeping blood.

“What- what happened?” My tone was a mix of pleading, shock, and panic.

“Honestly, kid, I’m not sure.” Lind said as he looked around the room. Even his clothes were slashed and stained in blood, but his skin beneath seemed unharmed. But given the near-devastation near me, his state was a just-as-near miracle. Given the state of the metal item near me, Lind should’ve been carved up like a pack of Servotex beasts had mauled him.

“This must have something to do with your volatile reaction to Life Myst.” Lind said as he stroked his chin like nothing dangerous had occurred. “I used a Life Myst-based cream to heal your surgical wounds. The act was an automatic reflex. I didn’t even think about your condition.” 

“Wha- What do you mean?” I demanded.

Lind locked eyes with me. “Iver, I think because of your strange genetic makeup, your body has a very strong reaction when myst is used on you. You mentioned that Life Myst had never caused you any problems before. Am I correct?”

“Y-yes.” I stuttered.

“Well, I think that those unknown genes in your system are the source of all of these strange results. I think your body is evolving.”

“Evolving?” I asked.

“Yes.” Lind answered simply. “But given the reactions thus far, I can’t say that they are all good. I think after the adverse physical and physiological trauma you suffered, your body will now react… violently to any Lumina-aligned elements.”

“Violently, how?” I asked.

“Well, I just tried to use Life Myst on you. That had a rather… Adverse reaction. You mentioned that when your friends tried to heal you with the same element, it caused some kind of poisoning, correct?

“Y-yes.” I numbly answered.

“Did Fate Myst have any effect on you?”

“No. Or at least, that’s what two of my instructors said.” I answered.

“What about Light Myst?” Lind asked.

“They just told me it wouldn’t have any effect.”

“Well, I would not attempt or accept any spells or abilities that have any Lumina Elements intended to alter someone’s body or mind.”

I gave a silent nod, feeling numb to the idea that almost half of the elements that made up the world were toxic to me. I couldn’t help but feel isolated. Life, Fate, Light, and Arcane Myst… they all were likely toxic to me. I already had been having a hard time dealing with the fact that I was someone that only wanted to create and help with magic, but couldn’t. How could I create anything to help others when the only magic I had access to was Umbral? Dark, hateful, dangerous, hostile elements. Death Myst killed. Chaos Myst changed chance and only caused problems for most. Dark Myst was only used to curse and hurt. Eldritch Myst was the literal embodiment of unstable and dangerous change. Now, I was told that any element that could help others was toxic to me. I was a danger. A danger to myself. And given what had just happened while under the knife, I was a serious danger to others.

I had already killed someone in a fit of berzerk rage and carved off my own foot. Was I a threat? Was I unstable? I already needed medication to maintain some form of stable mindset on a day-to-day basis. I was already worried that I was crazy for needing medication. Was I a monster? Not the ghoul kind of monster, but the sophic kind. Would I become a serial killer? Would I lose control of myself? Lose my morality? What would happen if that darkness devoured me whole?

I gritted my teeth and threw those thoughts aside. I needed to focus. After a short period of thinking, I locked eyes with Lind, who had been patiently waiting for me.

“I want you to sever my remaining foot.” I said in a voice hardened with forged steel.

“What?!” Lind exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, sir. But you heard me. I want you to cut off my foot. And don’t use any clotting agent or anesthetic.”

“Iver, have you lost your mind?” Lind snapped.

“No.” I firmly stated. “I need to go through this. No crutches. No unneeded help. If you won’t take the foot, then I will do it myself. Give me a bone saw.”

“No!” Lind pressed. “No. No. No.” He repeated, waving his hands in firm and total denial. “If that is what you want, then fine. But if I think you’re about to die, I am taking steps to prevent that outcome. I will not let you die on my watch.”

“Fine.” I stated.

“Can I ask why you want this?”

“This project, if you will, has several goals.” I held up a single finger. “First goal: I need to be able to adapt to that degree of pain. While I did manage to partially function after cutting off my own foot in the heat of battle, that was an act born of madness and desperation. Maybe I’m still mad, but once is an experience, twice is an occurrence. If I can experience that pain in a safe environment where I know that I likely won’t die, then I should be able to mostly function if something similar happens while I’m in danger.”

I raised a second finger. “Second goal: I want to attempt to use the free-flowing blood to cast one of the simpler abilities you taught me. This ties into the first goal because I want to see if I can force myself to maintain the mental formula for a simple spell while in severe pain. Even if I fail, which I expect I will, I’ll have a better grip on what I need to do when I truly need to push past pain to cast something.”

I raised a third finger. “Third goal: I have plans for foot cybernetics designs. But I need a patched pair for my scheme to work. I think you are going to like what I’m plotting”

Lind squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose as if he were fighting off a particularly bad headache. “First off, Iver, you’re mad. You are totally insane. Kissed Kassidan on the lips and led his parade, kind of mad. I’ll give you this, kid. You have a color of courage that I have never before witnessed.”

“Thank you?” I said with obvious confusion as I cocked my head to the side.

Lind walked over to his stool lying on its side, and sat it up before easing himself into the damaged seat. “Next,” he continued as he moved the hand, pinching the bridge of his nose to start massaging his brow. “Why? Why, for the sake of all that is good and just in this world, would you even think of an idea this insane? Don’t get me wrong. I heard your reasoning for this choice. I can even understand your logic to some degree. But there is a monumental difference between someone wanting to replace their remaining foot to have a matched set and what you are asking for. What in the realms is driving you to do something something I might honestly call schizo?”

I chewed on my cheek and stared off into the distance as I thought about how to word my answer. This choice seemed natural in my mind. I thought my logic was sound. But the source of my drive to do it was complicated. It was more than just wanting to have more tools to use. It was also more than just a desire to improve my physical state. Those did play a factor in the choice, and so did the philosophical perspective Lind’s book showed me. But my motives ran deeper than that.

When I had my answer, I looked at Lind and spoke in a voice full of determination.  “Because I have people I need to protect. My sister was almost killed because I could not function after I lost my foot. I will use every single tool I have to save those in need. I don’t care about the cost. If I have to spill my own blood, that’s coppers in the bucket. If I need to sever a leg or arm, so be it. If I need to become an Augged Lunatic, I don’t care. My goal, as juvenile as it sounds, is to become a Hero. I will save as many lives as I can. To use your own words, every life has immense value and near-infinite potential. I’ve made mistakes, and I need to balance those scales. I plan on spending the rest of my days paying that price.”

“Iver, kid, you’re dacker. Completely insane. But, okay.” Lind said with a resigned sigh as he stepped up to his operating table. “I guess we’ll start with the worst part first. Do you need something to bite on?”

“Yeah.” I resolutely said.

“Okay. Be sure that you don’t bite off your tongue with this next bit. Ready yourself.”

Lind pulled his own leather belt free from his pants and handed it over to me before he turned and picked up an electric bone saw. I folded the belt in half and bit down on it before giving Lind a nod, signaling that I was ready. The man wore a worried look but said nothing, even as he pressed the blade against my ankle. 

The screaming started almost instantly when he carved into my leg with firm and steady pressure on the saw. 

My voice had barely recovered from my screaming when I had severed my other foot, and I could feel my vocal cords straining and fraying under the pressure of my pain. I shrieked and howled like a soul tortured in the depths of hell as I felt the blade severing tendons and ripping muscle. Blood flowed from the expanding wound in ever-growing gushes. Before I knew it, at the foot of the table, my wound had birthed a pool of blood spanning three feet across.

Kharmor burst through the door to the room, looking like he was ready to kill someone. When he saw what Lind was doing, his face warped with fury, and he rushed forward. I raised a quaking hand and gave my friend the signal to stop, paired with a snarled “NO!”

I can’t explain how it worked, but just like in the fight, I could feel my blood like an extension of my body. But this time the blood felt distant. The sensation was less intense than when I was fighting the Arsenal Regulator.

I moved my quaking hand to reach for the blood at my feet with claw-like fingers. With all the effort I could muster, I pushed myself to manifest and hold the BindRune formula to shape the blood into a simple knife. The effort of simply holding the mental image of the formula felt like trying to shape dry sand. The blood at my feet quivered, and some of it started to rise from the floor. An undulating blob of crimson pulled free from the pool and rose a few inches before I lost the mental grip and the blob collapsed and fell back into the pool.

I flexed my jaw and hand before trying again. The blob raised again and started to mold into the vaguest of shapes that might be compared to a butter knife. I was about to attempt to harden the shape when I felt my leg suddenly grow lighter. My eyes rolled into the back of my skull as I gasped for breath through a gaping mouth, the belt having fallen by the wayside. I knew that I was totally footless, but I somehow could still feel the missing limb, and by the Fragments, did it hurt. While the cutting had stopped, the not-foot felt like it was both freezing cold and blistering hot.

Suddenly, I felt a slapping pressure on the stump of my ankle, and I let out another shriek of pure agony. When I managed to pull my eyes forward to look down at my fresh wound, I found Lind padding quick-clot onto the stump. These motions visibly looked both gentle and hurried as he worked to stop the bleeding. It was at the sight of my freshly severed foot lying on the floor, still held by a shoe, that I fainted.

When I came back to the land of the living, I had a fresh pair of feet and a new arm already installed. Lind also replaced the ANFEN node since it was damaged by the limb severing. He off-handedly mentioned something about how he integrated and spiced the systems but didn’t elaborate.

Lind allowed me a short period to adapt to my new limbs, helping me walk around the room, climb stairs, and do other simple actions. After an hour and a half, I could mostly function with simple tasks, and he called me an AV cab to take me home. But he sent me with a mountain of homework. On top of the obvious task of fully adapting to my new limbs, I had to study a massive digital file of Lind’s notes on next-gen cybernetic theory and practices. I was told that after I had a firm understanding of the premise, I was to plan my new long-term cybernetics. Lind told me to hold nothing back when drawing up these new designs, given that I was going to frequently be in combat. After I had those designs finished, I was to start studying a notebook Lind gave me with notes on Hecatomb magic and spell practice. On top of that, I still needed to craft new equipment and study the info that Skitter gave me on the Razor Wings.

It looked like I had my work cut out for me.